Altyn Emel National Park
2-Days Tour
Tour details:
Price: starting from 105 USD per person (see full info below)
Type of Tour: Private
Duration: Two Days
Pick up and drop off at your hotel or anywhere else you’re staying in Almaty. Airport pick up and/or drop off are also available.
Meals: lunch, dinner, breakfast; vegetarian or vegan options are available.
What's included:
Transportation
Accommodation in guest house is based on two people sharing a double/twin room. Single supplement is available for additional 30 USD per person. Here is more information and photos of guesthouses.
Food – 2 lunches, 1 breakfast, 1 dinner.
Tour-guide (only for Standard option)
Water 1l per day per person
All fees & tickets
What to take with you:
Comfortable shoes
Warm jacket
Sunscreen
Hat
Tour Overview:
Kazakhstan’s largest national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Altyn Emel is the kind of place that stays with you long after you’ve left — and calls you back before you know it. Singing dune, sweeping semi-desert plains, the otherworldly rainbow-striped clay ridges of the Aktau mountains, and the ancient volcanic formations of Katutau: the park holds far more than most people expect. But what we love most about it is this — Altyn Emel is never quite the same twice.
In Dostar Trips, we treat each of our guests as a friend we just didn’t meet yet (“dostar” means friends from Kazakh). If you take a trip with us – you can rely on our friendly support during all your stay even after the tour, we will always be happy to help you with anything you need – advise the best place to eat, buy a train ticket, meet locals. Check out what our previous guests are saying about us on TripAdvisor. Let’s be friends!
Highlights:
- Enjoy a 2-day trip to the biggest natural park of Kazakhstan
- Climb to the summit of Aktau mountains (bottom of the ancient Tethys ocean) and be rewarded with the panoramic view of a lifetime
- Take a road trip to the unique singing sand dunes that never move despite the constant strong winds
- Spend your evenings stargazing and planet-spotting in some of Kazakhstan’s best dark sky locations
Itinerary:
Day 1: Almaty – Singing Dune;
Day 2: Aktau & Katty Tau mountains – Almaty.
Day 1: SINGING DUNE
Hike and listen the Singing Dune, enjoy the view of Ili river valley.
Photography for “Kolsay and Kaindy Lakes Tour via Charyn Canyon” are from Slawomir Adamczak, Pawel Plocienniczak & Stephen Bridger and by our tour guides.
Your adventure begins with an early hotel pick-up – your guide meets you in the lobby, introduces the driver, and gives you a taste of what’s ahead. Then you’re off, in a comfortable air-conditioned vehicle driven by a seasoned professional who knows these roads like the back of his hand.
The drive winds north, away from the city, and the landscape opens up almost immediately. Before long you’re greeted by the vast expanse of Kapchagai Lake – one of the last great Soviet engineering projects on Kazakh soil, still powering the entire region today. Along the highway, a row of gleaming casinos might catch you off guard: Kapchagai is one of only two places in Kazakhstan where gambling is officially permitted, a quirky reminder that this country is full of surprises.
After around 3–4 hours on the road, we arrive at our simple hotel at Basshi village inside Altyn Emel National Park for lunch and a rest before the afternoon’s adventure.
Then we head deeper into the park – through open, remote steppe that feels like the edge of the world — toward the first wonder of the trip: the Singing Dunes. Keep your eyes peeled on the way: black-tailed gazelles and Asian wild asses are occasionally spotted making their way down to the Ili River for a drink. At the dunes, your guide will reveal the fascinating mystery behind them — how a massive sand formation appeared in the middle of open steppe, and why, despite the winds, it has never shifted from its place in hundreds of years. Climb to the top, take in the sweeping panoramic views of the Ili River valley, and let the scale of it all sink in.
Back to the hotel for dinner and a well-earned rest.
*Visiting in August? You’re in for a bonus: far from any city lights, Altyn Emel offers one of the darkest skies in the region – perfect for watching the summer meteor showers.
Overnight at the village hotel in Basshi.
Day 2: AKTAU & KATUTAU MOUNTAINS
Hike at Aktau & Kattytau mountains and revel in the awesome panoramic view.
Photography for “Kolsay and Kaindy Lakes Tour via Charyn Canyon” are from Slawomir Adamczak, Pawel Plocienniczak & Stephen Bridger and by our tour guides.
Fuel up on a hearty village breakfast before heading out for the day’s centrepiece – a scenic 1.5-hour drive through rustic rural villages and sweeping semi-desert valleys, toward one of the most extraordinary geological sites in Central Asia: the Aktau and Katutau mountains.
Aktau is unlike anything most travellers have ever seen. Fantastically sculpted by 400 million years of time and weather, these mountains stretch 30 kilometres long and rise a kilometre high – a natural museum of the Earth’s distant past, painted in every colour of the rainbow. Pale blue lunar landscapes give way to deep red Martian hills, layer by layer, as far as the eye can see. Your guide will lead you along hidden paths to the summit, where on a clear day the vast, naked floor of the ancient Tethys Ocean stretches before you for hundreds of miles. One of those rare moments that puts everything into perspective.
After the hike, we settle in for a relaxed picnic with the full panorama of Aktau spread out in front of you. A view worth every step.
Then we move on to Katutau – a completely different character. These mountains were born from volcanic eruptions, their forms shaped over millennia by lava flows, wind, and sun into intricate, otherworldly rock formations that feel like they belong on another planet entirely.
Two extraordinary days in Kazakhstan’s largest national park – and memories that will last considerably longer. Your driver brings you back to Almaty and drops you exactly where you need to be: your hotel, your Airbnb, or the airport.
Your 2-Days Altyn Emel National Park Tour from Almaty on the map:
Prices for the 2-Days Altyn Emel National Park Tour from Almaty, USD:
This is a private tour. Each listed price is the total for your group size (1-5 guests), not a per person rate. Usually we don’t match solo travelers or combine separate bookings, sometimes we can do it only if participants agreed and their dates match, however unfortunately it rarely happens.
If your party size changes, the price will adjust to the corresponding group tier.
For groups of 6+ guests, please contact us for options.
Basic
Everything included — accommodation, meals, entry tickets, and water — just without the guide. A practical choice if you'd like to see the highlights while keeping costs manageable.
Solo traveller
$990
total
Private only, no group matching. $990 for one guest.
2 people
$515 / person
$1030 total
Private only, no group matching. $515 per person for group of two guests.
3 people
$405 / person
$1215 total
Private only, no group matching. $405 per person for group of three guests.
4 people
$315 / person
$1260 total
Private only, no group matching. $315 per person for group of four guests.
5 people
$275 / person
$1375 total
Private only, no group matching. $275 per person for group of five guests.
Standard
Your own expert English-speaking guide, an experienced driver, and everything taken care of — accommodation, meals, entry tickets, and water. Just show up and enjoy.
Solo traveller
$1220
total
Private only, no group matching. $1220 for one guest.
2 people
$635 / person
$1270 total
Private only, no group matching. $635 per person for group of two guests.
3 people
$480 / person
$1440 total
Private only, no group matching. $480 per person for group of three guests.
4 people
$370 / person
$1480 total
Private only, no group matching. $370 per person for group of four guests.
5 people
$320 / person
$1600 total
Private only, no group matching. $320 per person for group of five guests.
What's included:
Transportation
Accommodation in guest house is based on two people sharing a double/twin room. Single supplement is available for additional 30 USD per person. Here is more information and photos of guesthouses.
Food – 2 lunches, 1 breakfast, 1 dinner.
Tour-guide (only for Standard option)
Water 1l per day per person
All fees & tickets
Frequently Asked Questions
What vehicle will be used for the tour, and is it a 4×4 with rear seat-belts and child seats?
For our tours we usually use such cars as Toyota Land Cruiser or Toyota Sequoia.
We utilize only 4×4 vehicles to ensure a safe and reliable journey. Our fleet consists primarily of Toyota Land Cruisers and Toyota Sequoias.
Each vehicle is maintained to a high standard and undergoes a comprehensive safety inspection before every departure. For your safety, all cars are equipped with functional seat belts in the rear seats. Furthermore, if a child seat is required for your trip, we will provide one to ensure the comfort and safety of your younger travelers.
In Basic option - will the driver speak English?
Our drivers have a basic level of English — enough to get by, but don’t be surprised if a phone dictionary makes an appearance now and then. It’s all part of the adventure! If you’d like the full story behind every destination — the history, the geology, the culture — the Standard option with an expert guide is the way to go.
In Basic option - will the driver lead hikes?
For safety reasons we prefer our drivers to stay rested and alert for the road ahead, so they won’t be leading longer hikes. That said, shorter walks and quick explorations are absolutely fine. If guided hiking is important to you, the Standard option is the better fit.
What will I get by choosing Standard?
You will get everything from Basic — accommodation, meals, entry tickets, and water — plus your own expert English-speaking guide. Here’s what that means in practice:
- your driver stays focused on the road, while your guide is fully dedicated to you.
- They’ll bring every destination to life with stories about history, geology, and culture;
- lead every hike; and be by your side throughout the entire tour for whatever you need.
It’s the difference between seeing a place and truly understanding it.
Is it possible to arrange vegetarian meals?
Absolutely! We are happy to arrange vegetarian meals for you. Just let us know your dietary preferences when booking and we’ll take care of the rest. We can also accommodate vegan, raw, gluten-free, dairy-free, and most other dietary requirements — no one should have to worry about food on a trip like this. Just let us know and we’ll make it work!
Is this a fully private tour for our family, or could other guests be added?
This will be your fully private tour, no other guests will be added.
I see similar offers from other tour companies with cheaper prices, why your price is higher?
Great question — and we’d rather be upfront about it than defensive.
Our drivers. We work with a small, trusted group of professionals who drive well-maintained premium 4WD vehicles. They don’t speed, they know every rough stretch of road in every national park we visit, and they’ve spent years mastering routes that less experienced drivers find genuinely challenging. If our regular drivers are unavailable, we don’t run the tour — we’d rather reschedule than compromise on who’s behind the wheel.
Our guides. Every guide we work with has gone through our own training programme, speaks confident conversational English, and will take you through the history, geology, geography, flora and fauna of every place you visit. Many have been with us for years. Same rule applies: if our guides are unavailable, the tour doesn’t run.
Our support. Behind every tour is an office team available to help with anything — customising your itinerary, answering questions, and making sure every detail is taken care of before and during your trip.
Our values. We pay our team fairly, because people who take genuine pride in their work deserve to be compensated well for it. That’s how we retain the same trusted faces year after year — and why our guests keep coming back.
Our accountability. We are a fully licensed, tax-paying tour operator — a legitimate company with real accountability to our guests, our team, and the law.
Cheaper options exist, and we respect that budget matters. But when you’re travelling far from home in remote national parks and on rough mountain roads, the question worth asking is: who do I trust to get us there and back safely, and make it truly memorable? We’d love to be the answer to that question.
What's your cancelation policy?
Cancellation policy:
– If you need to cancel your tour and it’s more than 7 days before the start date, you’ll get your full deposit back.
– If you cancel less than 7 days before the tour, unfortunately, you won’t be able to get that deposit back.
In the event that the weather does not permit us to visit the planned locations, your guide will propose an alternative itinerary that is suitable for the current conditions. While we cannot control the weather, please rest assured that we always strive to ensure you have a wonderful experience, no matter the circumstances.
I want to book the tour, how do I proceed?
1. Choose your date — use the calendar to select your preferred departure date. Greyed-out dates are sold out, but you can join the waitlist if needed.
2. Select your group size — pick the package that matches your group. The more people, the better the price per person.
3. Fill in participant details — you’ll be asked for basic information about each person in your group. There’s also a Notes to Organizer field — feel free to use it for any special requests or questions for us.
4. Agree to the terms & conditions — a quick read before you confirm.
5. Travel insurance — you’ll have the option to add travel insurance powered by Trawick International, covering trip cancellations, missed flights, and medical emergencies while travelling. Entirely optional, but worth considering for peace of mind.
6. Payment — choose whichever payment method works best for you: credit or debit card, US bank account, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. All transactions are secure and encrypted. You only pay a 10% deposit today — the remaining balance is due closer to the tour date. Prefer to pay in full upfront? That option is available too.
Hit Confirm Booking and you’re all set. We’ll be in touch shortly to take care of everything else. Looking forward to showing you Kazakhstan!
What is your booking software, is it safe?
We use WeTravel – a secure, user-friendly Dutch platform designed to book and pay for multi-day, specialized group trips. It allows travelers to pay in multiple currencies, set up flexible payment plans, and securely upload necessary documents, all while providing a clear overview of their itinerary and payment status.
Key features for guests include:
– Secure Payment Options: Guests can pay for trips using credit cards or, often, fee-free local bank transfers (ACH, SEPA, etc.), reducing extra costs.
– Seamless Booking Experience: Guests can easily view itineraries, sign up, and manage their trip details in one place.
– Personalized Profile: Guests have access to a dashboard to check their booking status, payment history, and necessary travel documents.
– Communication: Through WeTravel, travelers can receive updates and communicate directly with trip organizers.
– Essentially, it acts as the secure booking portal for boutique travel companies, retreats, and specialized group tours, providing peace of mind for the consumer.
